Perfect Christmas Food & Drink Accompaniments at Christmas

Pairing drinks and food can be a difficult task, especially on Christmas day when there are so many different dishes to be eaten and drinks to be drunk. It isn’t overly important and usually guest will be happy to have whatever you give them. However it’s always nice to make an effort so below are a selection of popular Christmas dishes and the drinks to have with them.

Breakfast on Christmas Morning

It doesn’t matter what you are having for breakfast, it’s time for Champagne. Smoked salmon and scrambled eggs works particularly nicely with fizz.

Turkey

Turkey is eaten on Christmas day by people on both sides of the Atlantic. On its own, it is very easy to pair. But it’s never eaten alone, especially on Christmas day. There are all sorts of vegetables, sauces and stuffing’s that go with it. This makes it very hard to pair as it depends on the herbs and spices. If you’re going for a white try a Riesling or a Sauvignon Blanc and you won’t go far wrong. If you prefer red, a Pinot Noir or Zinfandel will go down a treat.

Goose

Goose is the traditional Christmas bird and has a much deeper, richer flavour. This means you want a good, full bodied red such as a Burgundy or Claret. If you are a beer drinker go for medium strength ale.

Christmas Pudding

Christmas pudding is a Christmas favourite. It’s literally covered with booze from the start. Its best served with a good pudding wine such as a Muscat or Sauternes. By this point you might be sick of wine, in which case a glass of larger is always an option.

Cheese

Wine and cheese is the perfect match. The best wine to enjoy with your cheese is entirely dependent on the cheese you are eating (or the other way round). Merlot, for example, is best with Brie and Cheddar. Port goes well with any blue cheese. Chianti is best served with Italian cheese. The list goes on. Red is usually the best option to have with cheese.

You don’t need to be too rigid with you pairings. The best advice is to serve people whatever they want to drink, regardless of the food they have in front of them.

This article was provided by Hal Sutcliffe. He has experience of working in the hospitality industry and currently works for a company offering Pubs for lease in the UK.